The Aftermath of Traitor in their Midst
by Hyperteenager24
Summary: Everyone's reactions to Jacob's leaving of the Creed
1. Giovanni

Alright, these are mini stories that will take place in the Modern Assassin's Creed universe that I'm writing. These will help to develop and explain the different relationships within the main story, without me going off on a tangent during the main story.

I hope you enjoy them, and please read and review :)

…..

Giovanni sighed wearily as Ezio stormed away from him, slamming doors behind him.

Everything had gone wrong.

Less than three hours ago, the Council had watched as Jacob made the decision to leave the Creed, or rather stay out of it (as they had expelled him from the Creed earlier). Ezio had been furious with his Father, refusing to speak to him the entire journey home.

Until Giovanni tried to say sorry of course.

Then Ezio utilised every swear-word he ever knew, in every language he'd ever learnt, before storming into his bedroom.

"Giovanni?"

He slowly turned around to glance at his wife, who was staring up at where Ezio had stormed off. "What's going on?" she asked.

Giovanni sighed, gently pushing past his wife to enter the sitting room. "The Council…. Have made a mistake."

Seating by her husband, Maria frowned, remaining silent as Giovanni continued. "I told you we had done something drastic a couple of days ago, correct?"

"Yes…. But you didn't tell me what." She glanced up to where Ezio's room was, "… I'm assuming it is why Ezio has barely spoken to you all week?"

"… We expelled Jacob from the Creed."

Maria gasped sharply, "Frye? Jacob Frye? Why did you- "

"-because all the evidence pointed to him!" Giovanni interrupted, "We had a dead witness who died with Jacob present! He was arrested in a warehouse that contained the chemicals found at the bombing sight! He escaped from prison, running made him seem guiltier!"

"But you've known Jacob since he was a small child…."

"You don't think I thought about that!" yelled Giovanni, "You don't think I didn't think about all of Ezio's birthday parties and sleepovers that Jacob came to?!"

"Then how could you think he killed that witness, or was the mastermind behind the Temple bombings?!"

Giovanni sighed wearily, practically collapsing onto the bed, "All the evidence pointed to him… and the military police didn't believe we would give him a fair and unbiased trial. The public was already turning against us, so expelling him from the Creed and proving them wrong seemed to be the best decision."

"Madre di Dio…" muttered Maria, "…. And all of you agreed to this?"

"…. Haytham didn't."

"So… the only one of you who had any sense was the Ex-Templar?"

Giovanni winced at the incredulous tone in his wife's voice, "It seemed like the right idea at the time."

"And now?"

Wincing again, Giovanni sighed. "… Jacob's left the Creed. He decided not to come back."

Maria shook her head in dismay, choosing not to reply, instead muttering in Italian under her breath. This continued on for a few minutes, before Maria began to pace the room. "No wonder Ezio isn't speaking to you!" She growled, "You kicked one of his best friends out of the Creed, who then decided to stay away! You realise that Ezio may never see Jacob again right?"

"I realise that but- "

"- but nothing idiota!" Standing by the window, Maria shook her head, "…Jacob was a good boy. Reckless, yes. Rude, yes…. But a good boy."

There was silence for a few moments, before Maria chuckled. "Do you remember Ezio's eighth birthday party?"

"…. Vaguely. Why?"

Maria rolled her eyes slightly, "That was when you first really met Jacob, remember?"

Casting his mind back, Giovanni frowned. It was true that he hadn't really interacted with the Frye twins when they first arrived at the village, or the two years afterwards…. But he was busy, far too busy to even consider interacting with the assassins-in-training.

But Ezio's eight birthday was different.

*Flashback*

"Papà! Papà!" cheered Ezio as he raced towards his Father, "You made it!"

Giovanni knelt and lifted his son into his arms, beaming as the child giggling in joy. "Ciao la mia scimmietta (Hello my little monkey)…" he greeted, "… did you get anything nice?"

Ezio nodded eagerly and tugged his Father into the main dining room, where they were both greeted with loud music and the excited squeals of several children. As Ezio eagerly held up the presents that he had received from family and friends (ranging from clothes to video games), Giovanni kept a careful eye on a certain child who was hanging around the radio with a glass of coke in his hand…. The expensive radio.

He vaguely recognised the child as being one of Ethan's twins, but that didn't explain why the child wasn't joining in with the frantic chaos. When Ezio's Uncle Mario arrived, Giovanni quickly took the chance to escape his son's excitement and stride over to the child.

"Jacob, right?"

In shock, the child span around to stare up at the older man, barely avoiding spilling his coke everywhere. Shyly, he nodded, shuffling from side to side as he turned his attention to the ground.

Sensing that Jacob was not going to say anything, Giovanni knelt and tried to give the seven-year-old a reassuring smile. "Any reason why you're not over there with the other children?"

Jacob shrugged, glancing over to where his friends were dancing, "Evie said I get in the way."

Giovanni sighed. He might not know them very well, but he knew that Evie and Jacob would often argue, bickering like twins were said to do. "Did she say how you get in the way?"

"She said my dancing is… weird."

Smiling slightly at this, Giovanni shook his head. "That doesn't mean you have to stay over here on your own."

"But they're dancing…"

"True…." Giovanni glanced around and leant in to whisper in Jacob's ear, "… but can I let you on in a little secret?"

When Jacob nodded, Giovanni grinned. "I can't dance either…. In fact, you could say that I dance un po 'stranamente!"

"Huh?"

"… A little weirdly."

"Oh…." Jacob thought to himself for a few moments, "… so because you dance weirdly as well, then I should go and join them anyway? Because even some gentlemen can't dance?"

"Di preciso… exactly."

It took a few minutes, but eventually, Jacob placed his glass near the radio (far too close for Giovanni's liking) and raced towards the rest of his friends, quickly joining in despite his sister's protests.

**End Flashback****

"You helped him that day…" Maria sighed, "… why couldn't you help him this week?"

Giovanni simply remained silent.

"You may have the room tonight…" Maria moved to the door, "…I'll sleep in the spare room I do believe. After I speak to Ezio of course."

"Ovviamente (Of course)."


	2. Blackbeard

Alright, these are mini stories that will take place in the Modern Assassin's Creed universe that I'm writing. These will help to develop and explain the different relationships within the main story, without me going off on a tangent during the main story.

I hope you enjoy them, and please read and review :)

…..

Edward Thatch (or Blackbeard as he preferred to be known as) frowned as his best friend, Edward Kenway, slumped against the bar-top, still mumbling about Jacob and that 'bastard Creed'.

Watching as the man fell unconscious, his sixth or seventh pint wrapped loosely in his hand, Blackbeard turned his thoughts to Jacob. He didn't know the brat very well, he must admit, but the kid could hold his drink and that was enough to respect him.

***Flashback***

"BLEURGH!"

Jacob yelped in fear when Blackbeard suddenly appeared from around the corner, dressed head to toe in ragged clothing, zombie make-up smeared all around his face. The teen took a step back, frowning at the nineteen-year-old.

"That's not funny Thatch!" Jacob yelled, "I almost 'ad a heart attack!"

"Ah stop ya whining! It's Halloween, the perfect time for scaring little children!"

"I am not a little child! I'm thirteen!"

Blackbeard couldn't help but smirk at the way Jacob tried to straighten up and appear taller. "Not a child are ya? Follow me then."

He headed down the street, not even checking to make sure that Jacob was following him. He knew he would be.

"Where are we going?!"

"To the pub of course! If you're not a child, then you're a man. And men can drink!"

"I-I don't think I'm allowed to- "

Blackbeard span around and grinned, the grin only widening when Jacob stepped back in shock. "Nothing wrong with breaking the rules a little…. They are made to be broken after all."

Jacob didn't seem convinced, "Evie says that- "

"- what yer sister says ain't gospel ya know. Live a little!"

It took a few seconds, but eventually, Jacob seemed to come to an agreement in his own mind and nodded in determination. "Fine… let's go have a drink."

"Atta boy!" Blackbeard flung his arm around Jacob's shoulders and pulled him closer, "I know a nifty little bar just outside of yer sheltered village! They won't blink an eye about you there! They never do when I take Eddy in there."

"I always wondered where he'd get drunk."

**End Flashback**

Blackbeard smirked at the memory of that night. For a scrawny teenager, Jacob didn't do as bad as he thought he would…. He only started puking after the third pint.

"Blackbeard…."

Blackbeard glanced back to his friend and sighed, "Yeah Eddy?"

"…. Do you think Jacob will hate me?"

There was a tense silence for a few moments, before Blackbeard answered. "No…. I doubt it."

"…. Promise?"

"I can't do that either Eddy…. I'm sorry."


	3. George Westhouse

Alright, these are mini stories that will take place in the Modern Assassin's Creed universe that I'm writing. These will help to develop and explain the different relationships within the main story, without me going off on a tangent during the main story.

I hope you enjoy them, and please read and review :)

…..

CRACK

George Westhouse took a step back. Partly in shock and partly in pain.

"You- you- you…" Evie's fists clenched in anger as she glared at her Father's old friend, "…. This is your fault!"

George shook his head, massaging his jaw to check that it wasn't broken. "It was a council decision Miss Frye. It was not a choice that was placed solely on my shoulders."

"Don't give me that! Haytham Kenway was clearly the only one who objected to expelling Jacob from the Creed! You barely even flinched!"

George remained silent at this, not agreeing and not disagreeing with the statement. As Evie stormed up the stairs, he turned to Ethan in desperation, "Ethan I- "

He was silently ordered into silence when Ethan held up his hand. "I-I can't speak to you right now George…." He muttered, turning his back on his old friend, "…. I need some peace."

George watched in dismay as Ethan headed up the stairs after his daughter. "I had very little choice…" he whispered, knowing that they were unlikely to hear him, "… he was like family to me too."

**Flashback**

"George?"

George glanced up from his paperwork, frowning at Jacob (who had entered his office without knocking… again).

The twins had moved into the Assassin village, and into the Frye Mansion, a couple of weeks ago… George was the only one who seemed to be regretting Ethan's decision. Children were loud and noisy, infiltrating almost every part of the mansion and disrupting important work.

"George?"

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, George turned his attention back to Jacob. "Yes?" He glanced around, "If you're looking for your sister, then she's not playing hide and seek in here. Do you know why that is?"

"….. 'cause we're not allowed in here?"

"Precisely…" Leaning forwards, he resisted the urge to grin at Jacob's nervous look, "…. So why are you in here?"

Shuffling from side to side anxiously, Jacob glanced over to where George kept his books, his eyes focused on the Bible on the second shelf. "I-Is God real?"

This caused George to pause, halting himself from saying what he was about to say next. "Pardon?"

"Is God real?"

"… Isn't this something you should be asking your Father? Or maybe Grandmaster Altair would be happy to answer your questions? He teaches you Religious Education, doesn't he?"

Jacob frowned and nodded, "Yeah, but I can't speak to the Grandmaster! He's too important! Daddy says I can't bother him!"

'Well at least he has respect for some members of the Order' mused George, thinking carefully to himself as to how he was going to answer Jacob's question.

It was a bit of a tough one to answer.

"Well…. it depends what you believe? Do you think there's a higher power?"

Jacob thought to himself for a few moments, before shaking his head. "No…. Arno says there's no God."

"Arno is very… wilful. However, if you don't believe in a higher power then he isn't real to you."

"That don't make sense!"

"Doesn't make sense…. And religion often doesn't"

Jacob frowned once again, "So…. God is real to Ezio and Grandmaster Altair, but not to me or Arno?"

"…. Yes. May I work in peace now?"

Nodding, Jacob headed out of the door, only to turn back around. "Ezio says he goes to the village church every Sunday. Why?"

"It's the Day of worship in Christianity. Many devot believers will go to pray and listen to sermons…. tales from the Bible."

"Oh…. can we go?"

George's head shot up from his work at this, "Pardon?"

Shuffling from side to side, Jacob shrugged, "I want to know what the big deal is…. Maybe for God to be real, I need to visit church?"

"You can barely sit still at dinner, there is no way you could sit still for an entire church service."

"I could! I promise I'll behave!"

There was silence for a few moments, before George sighed. "Alright…. But if you don't pay attention, then you'll help the trainee assassins clean the training weapons for the next three months okay?"

Jacob nodded eagerly, "Yeah I promise."

"Great… now get out."

…

That Sunday, George realised that he'd made a huge mistake. Almost as soon as the sun was appearing over the horizon, the door to his room flung open and a small, hyperactive six-year-old leapt on top of him.

"Come on! Come on! We got church, come on!"

George resisted the urge to yell, inside turning onto his side and groaning. "It doesn't start until nine. Either get back to bed, or suffer my wrath!"

"What does wrath mean?"

"GET OUT!"

Quickly (and wisely), Jacob scurried out of the room.

….

Once it was a reasonable time of the morning, George made his way down to the kitchen, only to take a step back when he saw Ethan and his twins at the breakfast table.

"I hear you're taking Jacob to church?" stated Ethan, smirking as George audibly groaned.

"A spur of the moment decision, I assure you."

Ethan simply continued to smirk, taking a sip of his coffee. "I'm sure you'll have lots of fun. Jacob."

Instantly, Jacob straightened up, the joyful grin that he'd had vanishing from his face as Ethan frowned at him.

"...I expect you to behave with George. He'll tell me if you don't."

Jacob flushed and nodded, his eyes focused on the ground.

George couldn't help but frown at this. The children might be nosy and pains…. But even a blind man could see that the twins were treated differently. Evie was the apple of her Daddy's eye, whereas Jacob was often treated like he was going to be sole reason for the Creed falling apart someday.

It was painful to watch sometimes.

"I'm sure Jacob will be very well-behaved…." He tried to defend the child, "… after all, it was his decision to go to church."

"Hmmmm, we can only hope so."

….

Ethan's worries turned out to be unfounded. Jacob behaved practically perfectly, paying very close attention to the sermon (which focused on the Ten plagues of Egypt). Once the service was over, George actually found that he was interested to know what Jacob thought.

Upon being asked the question, Jacob shrugged. "I don't think God is real to me."

"Oh? So you don't believe?"

"No…. God seems mean."

George stopped in his tracks, and frowned at the child. "Pardon?"

"It's just…. I understand about the frogs and everything, but why kill the first born's? It's not their fault the King won't let the slaves go?"

"Well, the Pharaoh wasn't letting the slaves go, so God believed that killing the First born's of Egypt would be the final straw. And it could've been retribution for the killing of the sons of the slaves when Moses was born."

"What kind of God would kill innocent children for revenge though? It don't make sense!"

George thought to himself for a few moments, before shrugging. "I understand that God may seem a little…. cruel, but the Egyptians were cruel to the Hebrew slaves."

"But Grandmaster Altair says we shouldn't act on revenge? Isn't that what God did?"

The debate went back and forth like that for some time, with George not even realising how much time had passed, or how far they'd walked. Before he even realised it, they had arrived back at the Frye Manor.

As they entered, Jacob moved as though to race up to his room, but not before turning back to George and smiling at him. "Thanks George. That was…. Nice."

Silently, George agreed.

**End Flashback**

"I'm sorry…" George whispered again, "…. I'm so sorry."


	4. Yusuf

Alright, these are mini stories that will take place in the Modern Assassin's Creed universe that I'm writing. These will help to develop and explain the different relationships within the main story, without me going off on a tangent during the main story.

I hope you enjoy them, and please read and review :)

…..

Yusuf turned away from the screen, sighing as Ezio (over Skype) explained what had happened back at the main Assassin Temple.

"To be honest…." Sighed Ezio, who seemed to be ignoring a knocking on his own bedroom door, "… I don't blame Jacob for leaving. After the way we treated him, I'm not surprised he left. I would've done the same."

Sighing once again, Yusuf nodded. "I can't believe it..." he muttered, "… I go away for one abroad mission, and everything goes to shit!"

His intention was to make Ezio laugh, but it failed miserably.

Ezio shook his head in dismay, "I don't what we're going to do. It's like an arm is missing... Jacob played an important part in the team. What are we going to do?"

Finding himself unable to answer, Yusuf shook his head. "I don't know Ezio…. Maybe Jacob will come back?"

"Doubtful…. I should go. I think my Father wants to speak to me."

"Good luck."

Ezio simply scoffed, before ending the call and signing off. Wearily, Yusuf collapsed onto his bed, knowing that he should really go and tell the other members of his team about Jacob leaving…. And yet, he found himself unable to get up.

Yes, he spent the majority of the year abroad, helping out the Assassin Guild in Turkey… but he had always considered Jacob to be a friend.

The younger teen was a laugh after all.

**Flashback**

Yusuf scowled at the screen in front of him.

Stupid history class.

"You know they won't replace your laptop if you set it on fire, right?" came a voice from the doorway, prompting Yusuf to glance up.

He titled his head in confusion at Jacob, who was grinning at him. "Huh?"

Jacob gestured at the laptop, "You're glaring at it…. Haven't you heard the phrase, 'if looks could kill'?"

"Fire wouldn't be enough…." Muttered Yusuf, "… I'm ready to take a hammer to this fucking thing!"

Walking up behind Yusuf, Jacob stared at the screen over the Turk's shoulder. "American history…" he hissed in sympathy, "… nasty. Is it the big one?"

"Worth over half the grade? Yeah."

"…So what have you chosen to do?"

"Language…. The differences in American and British language over time."

Jacob hissed again in sympathy, "Are you regretting it now?"

"Hell yes…."

"If it makes you feel any better, you won't get a better grade than Connor."

Yusuf glared at the younger teen, "Surprisingly, no it doesn't…. what did you do this essay on?"

"The relationship between America and Britain after the Revolutionary War. Connor focused on the war part."

"Well his Dad is kind of an expert."

"Yeah…. Lucky bastard."

There was silence for a few minutes, before Jacob grinned and pulled the laptop away. "You need to relax…"

"No. I need to finish this essay."

Pulling the laptop further away, Jacob mock-frowned. "If you don't relax, you'll snap!"

"But- "

"- Nope…." Interrupted Jacob, placing the laptop on another desk, "We're going to have fun."

…

Hours later, Yusuf found himself slumped in front of a TV, laughing as a comedian practically danced across the stage, joking about his wife. Jacob, who was laughing and trying not to spill his can of coke onto the sofa.

"There is one thing about the American Language that I've realised…. As a Brit, anyway." Jacob chuckled, "They speak a changed version of English."

"Huh?"

"Well, take 'pavement' for example. In America, it's called a 'sidewalk'…. It's like they've had to change it to make sure that people know where they have to walk on a street. To the side!"

Yusuf chuckled slightly, but then glanced around (to make sure that Connor wasn't around, because that boy was huge). "You shouldn't say stuff like that…" he whispered, "…. there are way too many Americans in the Creed, and they're all scarier than you."

"Not all of them!"

"Jacob, even Ziio is scarier than you."

"That women can kill wolves, of course she's scarier than me…. But I was trying to help."

Yusuf frowned, "How?"

"Well, you can talk about the changes in UK English and US English. The missing 'u's' and the changing of vowels, and the changes of certain words. That's at least three paragraphs, six if you do a couple of paragraphs on each subject. And then you have the introduction and conclusion."

Opening his mouth to argue, Yusuf suddenly stopped in his tracks. "… Y-you're right. I can easily reach the word limit."

He leapt to his feet and ran over to where the laptop was, quickly grabbing it and racing out of the room. "Thanks Jacob!" he yelled as he was leaving.

"Happy to help!"

***End Flashback***

Yusuf sighed wearily. He got a brilliant grade on that essay… and it was thanks to Jacob.

He hadn't spoken to Jacob in the months leading up to the bombing… and now he regretted it.


	5. Adewale

Alright, these are mini stories that will take place in the Modern Assassin's Creed universe that I'm writing. These will help to develop and explain the different relationships within the main story, without me going off on a tangent during the main story.

I hope you enjoy them, and please read and review :)

…..

As he strode into the bar, having been summoned there by Blackbeard, Adéwalé instantly spotted Edward slumped over at a table.

"There you are!" exclaimed Blackbeard, "I thought I was going to have to carry this sad bastard out myself!"

Adéwalé frowned, walking over and nudging Edward…. The Welshman didn't stir. "I didn't think he would be so upset about Jacob."

"Mate, they were good friends. Just like you guys are good friends…. And Jacob was kicked out wrongly!"

"… I know. But getting drunk won't help."

"No, but it'll make him forget for a bit."

Nodding in agreement, Adéwalé seated himself by Edward. "Let's just leave him for a bit. Maybe he'll wake up soon." He stated.

There was silence for a few moments, before Blackbeard sighed. "Shame about Jacob… I liked the kid."

"You liked scaring him."

"True… do you think the council were right to cast the kid aside?"

Adéwalé thought to himself for a few moments, before shrugging. "I can't say…. It was desperate times. They must have thought that what they were doing was right."

"I bet they're not thinking that now."

"No…."

As Blackbeard went to get another drink, Adéwalé turned his thoughts to Jacob. As he was good friends with Edward, who was good friends with Jacob, he and the younger teen spent a fair amount of time together…. Usually in pubs.

…Flashback….

"Watch out everyone!" yelled Jacob drunkenly as he wobbled from side to side, "I'm the terrifying Captain Edward Kenway! Scourge of the seas!"

"I told you that childhood dream in confidence!" Edward laughed, "You bastard!"

Jacob span around (almost falling over) and pouted at Adéwalé, "You're the adult here Adéwalé! Tell him not to call me mean names like that!"

Rolling his eyes, Adéwalé shook his head. "I'm only older than you by a few months."

Edward and Jacob glanced at other, before smirking at Adéwalé.

"Some adult supervision you are?!" mocked Edward, nudging his friend in the side.

"Yeah!" agreed Jacob, "We need an adulter adult!"

Adéwalé just shook his head again, "You two need to be studying… I really shouldn't be enabling this."

"I love you big guy!" laughed Edward, flinging his arms around Adéwalé (well… as well as he could), "You're saving us from being nerds!"

"Being a nerd isn't too bad…" sighed Adéwalé, "… you might find that you don't get lectured as much."

Jacob laughed at this, "But that would suck all the fun out of life! We can be great assassins without having to spend every night with our heads in books!"

"Don't you have a French exam tomorrow?"

"…. Maybe?"

Edward laughed at his younger friend, "I'm pretty sure you drunk some French beer back there! Maybe that'll help?"

As Jacob tried to speak French, Adéwalé and Edward laughed, with Edward stumbling over to his friend and flinging his arm around Jacob's shoulders.

"That's what you get for taking French instead of Spanish with me! All to impress Freddie?!"

"I'll have you know…." Slurred Jacob, "… that the French language will soon take over the world! It's a must have for anyone!"

There was silence for a short period of time, before Jacob twisted around to bury his face in Edward's shoulder. "He's so hot though!" he cried out, "And French is the language of love!"

"Oh yeah? Say that in French…"

"Ummmm, Je…. wait that's I…. Ummmm- shut up!"

Jacob pushed Edward away as his friend cackled, with Adéwalé soon joining in as Jacob pouted.

"Y-you can't even- "

"- No, no wait!" Jacob interrupted Edward, "You can't tell me you didn't sign up for Spanish to snuggle up to…. What's her name?"

"What?!"

"You know who I'm talking about! That Chinese girl, what's her name…."

Edward scoffed, "Surely I would've signed up for doing Chinese as a language instead?!"

"No! Because she was taking Spanish! She already spoke Chinese!" Jacob frowned, "What happened to her?"

"She decided to move back to China."

"Bummer."

Adéwalé laughed as Edward pouted, gently placing a hand on both of their shoulders and steering them towards the steps that led up to the local library.

"You two need to focus less on relationships right now…" he scolded,

"But Ezio has Leonardo and Connor has Aveline!" whined Edward, "Don't we deserve love too Addy?"

"Please don't call me that…. Come on you two, sit down."

Gently encouraging the pair to sit down, Adéwalé sighed wearily as Jacob beamed up at him. "I think I'm a little drunk Addy."

"Obviously… and don't call me that."

"Everything's spinning…."

Resisting the urge to groan, Adéwalé winced when Edward fell back against the cold, hard steps.

"More drinks will help with that!" chuckled Edward, slapping Jacob on the back (or at least he tried to).

"Can't we just get some burgers?"

"Lightweight!"

Jacob simply shrugged, slumping over as he clearly found it more and more difficult to hold himself upright. There was silence for a short while, before Jacob glanced up at Adéwalé. "Hey Addy? How old were you when you had your first drink?"

"… Nine."

"Nine!" exclaimed Edward, "Dude!"

Adéwalé shook his head, "My Father was trying to protect me and my Mother from a group of… white supremacists. He got hit in the head by a rock so he wanted me to stitch him up. I got a shot of whiskey to help steady my hands."

There was silence as Edward flushed slightly in guilt.

"I'm sure he's proud of you…." Whispered Jacob, rubbing his eyes as he tried to sober up.

Sighing, Adéwalé seated himself by Jacob. "For as long as I can remember, he wanted me to use my head instead of my fists…" he confessed, "…not like him."

Jacob nodded in understanding as Edward grunted.

"Your Dad sounds nice…" whispered Jacob, a tone of sorrow in his voice which prompted Adéwalé to twist around.

He knew that Jacob and Ethan were going through another rocky period in their relationship.

"Your Dad cares for you as well…" he tried to reassure the younger male, "… he just… has trouble showing it."

Jacob shrugged, "Maybe… He just… seems more invested in how Evie's going to turn out. I feel like I've been pushed to the side, like I'm just second best."

"Nonsense…" scolded Adéwalé, "…. Your Dad does care about you. I bet, when you and the rest of your team graduate, he'll be there for both of his children."

"…. Do you really think so?"

"Yes Jacob. I do."

Jacob nodded his thanks, before twisting around to face Edward.

"I think Eddy's passed out."

****End Flashback***

Shaking his head, Adéwalé sighed wearily, barely flinching when he heard Edward stirring beside him.

"Jacob…" muttered the younger teen in his drunken state, his face creasing in a frown as it became evident what he was thinking of, "…. S-sorry Jacob."

Adéwalé gently moved Edward's empty glass away so that it wasn't knocked over.

"You shouldn't be sorry Edward…." He muttered, "… They should be."


	6. Aveline

Alright, these are mini stories that will take place in the Modern Assassin's Creed universe that I'm writing. These will help to develop and explain the different relationships within the main story, without me going off on a tangent during the main story.

I hope you enjoy them, and please read and review :)

…..

BANG

Aveline paused, hearing the sound of a punching bag being struck echoing throughout the Training Halls. Having just returned from a mission, she was eager to shower and collapse into bed.

But first, she wanted to see Connor.

Nipping into the room where the boxing equipment was usually kept, she frowned at the sight of her boyfriend striking the punching bag again and again and again.

Now the training wasn't unusual, but the frustration on his face was.

"Connor?"

Startled slightly, Connor twisted around and forced a smile (and Aveline knew it was forced). "Oh… I didn't realise you were coming back today?"

"I sent you a text?"

Connor sighed, turning his attention back to the punching bag, "I… left it in my room."

Now Connor wasn't one for spending all of his free time on his mobile, but he was pretty good at keeping it with him for emergencies…. For him to leave it in his room was out of character.

Striding up to him, Aveline gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Connor? What's happened?"

There was a brief silence, before Connor shook his head. "Y-you heard about the bombings, right?"

When Aveline nodded, he continued. "J-Jacob ended up being framed for the crime…. He was expelled from the Creed."

Aveline sucked in a shocked breath through her teeth, "W-well, they found him innocent, right?"

"Yeah, but only when Shay was caught and confessed."

Swearing under her breath in French, Aveline shook her head, choosing not to comment. "And Jacob?"

"… Jacob chose not to come back. He's gone."

"What?"

Punching the bag another couple of times, Connor growled. "Jacob. Is. GONE! He left!"

Without giving his girlfriend another glance, Connor stormed out of the room, leaving Aveline behind to stare after him. As she pulled out her phone to text Evie, she couldn't help but sigh.

Gone…. Someone had actually quit the Creed.

*****Flashback*****

"Aveline?"

Aveline glanced up at Jacob, who was dressed in his pyjama pants, rubbing his eyes wearily.

"What are you doing?"

A glass of wine in her hand, Aveline sneered. "I got a call from Jeanne today."

Jacob couldn't help but wince. After Aveline's birth Mother disappeared and was then found again, the relationship between the two was slightly strained. In normal circumstances, Jacob would joke that tension between the Young Assassin's and their parents wasn't unusual…. But this wasn't the time.

"Did she ask about your Dad?"

"Non. She just…. Made excuses."

There was an awkward silence, before Jacob simply nodded, seating himself by Aveline and pulling the bottle. "What are you watching?" he asked, noticing the Disney logo appear on the TV screen.

"Lion king."

"… You needed a cry?"

"Oui."

As the film started and the 'Circle of Life' echoed throughout the room, Jacob grinned. "They are all bowing to a creature that's going to eat them… that's like Templar bowing to us."

"You'd like that…"

"Hell yes."

…..

"Why didn't Scar try and kill Mufasa before there was another heir? Now he's got more work to do!"

"Scar did not think this through."

"Did he try and that's how he got the Scar?"

"No, don't you remember the children's book? He was called Taka and then when his Dad gave him the scar, he started calling himself Scar."

"Taka…. Oh yeah! Garbage! That's what it means right?"

"Yep… douchebag parents rise again. And I bet Mufasa was a douchebag, older jock brother."

…

"If everything the light touches is their kingdom, then does that mean they're not royalty at night?"

"Yeah, like do mini kingdoms pop up in the shaded areas?"

….

"All he's being taught to do, is to attack other animals!"

"… Isn't that what we're taught to do?"

"Good point…"

….

"Mon Dieu, don't you think the Pride situation is weird? Mufasa and Scar are the only males… so one of them must be Nala's Father."

"She and her Mother might have just joined the Pride later?"

"Hmmmm, but if Scar is her Dad then it's really creepy, because in the musical there's an extra song where Scar wants to marry her."

"Ewwwwwww"

….

"Never seen a king of beasts, with quite so little hair!" "Never seen a king of beasts, with quite so little hair!"

….

"I remember watching this as a kid and thinking that I would never be that brave!"

"Well you're not a lion… or a prince."

"….. There are so many dead elephants, it must stink there!"

…

"This film must have upset a ton of hyena activists. This is… specie-ist."

"Have you ever met a nice hyena?"

"They're like dogs…."

"Bad dogs!"

"They laugh when they're scared?"

"Aw, that makes me so sad…. another glass?"

"Hell yes."

…..

"Why is it green? What makes a lair green?!"

"Evil!"

"I'm surrounded by idiots…. How many times have I used that gem."

"Scar is so sassy…. Do you think he's gay?"

"No just… aristocratic?"

"…. Maybe their lair shouldn't be in a volcano? That thing is going to blow!"

"His original army was the elephants, they met next to the volcano and that's why there's an elephant graveyard!"

….

"What if Scar was the good guy? I mean, he is trying to help the hyenas?"

"Hmmm… if you ignore the Nazi symbolism."

"Yeah… if you ignore that. This song is great though."

"This is the best song!"

"Respected. Saluted. And seen for the wonder I am!" "Respected. Saluted. And seen for the wonder I am!"

…

"Why can't Mufasa just be like, 'Stop this madness in the name of your king!'"

"He doesn't have control over his people."

"Bad king. Can't even tell those wildebeest to stop. They don't respect him."

"…. These wildebeest need to be held accountable- wait, are you crying Jacob?"

"T-this always m-makes me c-c-cry…."

….

"I'm s-so grateful for 'cactus but'…. I n-needed that laugh."

…..

"Why is a lion-hyena relationship so bad?"

"See, maybe Scar really was the good guy… if you ignore all the Nazi stuff."

"Poor Sarabi though."

"Who?"

"Simba's mum."

"I didn't realise you knew so much about this, Aveline?"

"Me and my Papa used to watch Disney films all the time… whenever I was sad, he'd let me curl up next to him and we'd watch a film."

….

"Simon just stuck his hands in Pumba's nostrils."

"… Just you just say Simon? It's Timon."

"I'm drunk Aveline, don't judge me!"

…..

"Fuck Pride Rock, that place is the best!"

"Hakuna Matata bitches!"

"Oh look, the bridge of puberty!"

"I feel like I was stuck on that bridge for way too long…."

"You were Jacob. I feel like your voice continued to crack for years."

…

"Zazu's in prison like, Hakuna Matata!"

"I don't think you need any more wine."

"I need so much more wine."

…

"Why do I always have to save your- "

"AAAAAAASSSSSSS!"

"….. I never realised how gorgeous Nala is."

"Wine will do that to you."

…

"Sexy Nala!"

"Now that I've had another glass, I can see what you mean. Simba's okay, but Nala's a solid ten!"

…..

"Rafiki had the best quote in this film, hands down."

"You can let the past hurt you, or you can learn from it…. I agree."

…..

"He went in the completely wrong direction if he ended up in the Sahara! He is way lost!"

….

"Lu'au! If you're hungry for a hunk of fat and juicy meat Eat my buddy Pumbaa here because he is a treat! Come on down and dine! On this tasty swine! All you have to do is get in line! "Aaaare you achin'?!"

"Yup, yup, yup!"

"Foooor some bacon?!"

"Yup, yup, yup!"

"Heeee's a big pig!"

"Yup, yup!"

"You could be a big pig too. Hoy!"

…

"SARABI!" "SARABI!"

"I need to make that my ringtone."

"I think it might give you away slightly, especially with the undercover missions you do."

"True. High society dinners aren't really the place for ringtones like that."

….

"Simba really needed to explain himself better there, like explain what happened rather than just say 'oh yeah, I killed him'… oops?"

"The Pride Lands need a therapist."

….

"The hyenas are everyone's punching bag…."

"Have you ever used that tactic?"

"What? Throwing stuff in somebody's eye to get the upper hand. Of course! Always carry sand with you, that's my life tip."

…..

"Scar is so malnourished…. It's sad."

"It's okay, the hyenas can use his bones for toothpicks in a minute."

"Too far Jacob…. Too far."

"Don't judge me…. I'm way too drunk to watch my mouth or even care."

….

When the film came to an end, Aveline found herself slumping over and resting her head on Jacob's shoulder, the alcohol dulling her senses and slowing her down. "Can you just stay here for now?"

Nothing, except the sounds of snoring.

"Okay…. You're staying here."

****** End Flashback *******

"Miss…. Miss?"

Startled out of her thoughts, Aveline span around to see another Assassin standing in the door, frowning in concern at her.

"Is everything alright? You've been standing there for a while now."

Glancing at the clock, Aveline realised that almost 30 minutes had passed since Connor had stormed out. Shaking her head slightly, she sighed. "I-I'm fine… it's just been a long day."

The other Assassin nodded in understanding, remaining silent as Aveline strode past him and left the room.

Sighing to herself, Aveline made her way to her house in the Assassin village, hoping maybe to see another member of the Young Assassin group…. She needed a drink.


	7. Malik and Altair

Alright, these are mini stories that will take place in the Modern Assassin's Creed universe that I'm writing. These will help to develop and explain the different relationships within the main story, without me going off on a tangent during the main story.

I hope you enjoy them, and please read and review :)

…..

As he and Altair lay in bed, on the night after Jacob left, Malik couldn't help but feel like his husband was giving him the cold shoulder.

"Novice? Novice…. Altair."

"… Yes?"

Malik frowned at the slightly disinterested tone in Altair's voice, "Are you…. Sulking?"

"A Grandmaster does not sulk, he merely takes time to contemplate past events."

"Yeah… you're sulking."

Groaning slightly under his breath, Altair rolled over to face Malik, wincing as his bones ached. "Do you think we did the right thing?"

"With Jacob? Yes of course. We needed to separate ourselves from him before his trial. We needed to prove to the military that the Assassins would be on the side of justice and not try to bury everything under the rug."

"Maybe we should have been by his side… stood with him and provided support when the whole world was against him."

"We did support him."

Altair shook his head, "No… no we didn't. We turned our backs on him, otherwise he wouldn't have left the Order."

"You don't know that! He might have decided to leave at some point in the future anyway."

Frowning at this, Altair slowly pushed himself into a seated position. "How can you be so sure of that?"

Malik rolled his eyes, "I know you had a soft spot for him, but even you have to admit that Jacob wouldn't have been a good Assassin."

Altair seemed stunned by this, prompting Malik to continue. "Every test that we ever set out for the Young Assassins, every exam and every chance that he got…. Jacob disappointed me."

**** Flashback *****

"The aim of the task is to cross the river whilst balancing on this rope…" stated Malik, his eyes scanning over the small crowd of students, "… I want to see pose, precision… and no wet students. Assassins should be able to walk across the thinnest of surfaces without even a stumble!"

He resisted the urge to smile when he saw the eagerness of Ezio Auditore and Conner Kenway. The former had spent most of his childhood clambering over rooftops, whilst Conner had spent all of his life balancing on thin branches to steal feathers from bird nests and as hunting practice.

The other children were also the sons and daughters of other assassins, and so, had had experience with activities like this. They all should have been confident in this task.

And yet, Jacob Frye looked as though he was going to throw up at the thought.

"Ezio. Why don't you go first?"

Eagerly, Ezio stepped forwards, nimbly tightrope walking across the small river, before flipping over to the bank on the other side and giving a bow.

"Excellent. Connor, you next."

Once again, it was a success.

"Evie. Go."

Success again.

This time, Malik turned his attention to Jacob, who was trying to look anywhere but at him.

"Jacob…"

As Jacob glanced at him, Malik couldn't help but smirk.

"… Go on."

He watched as Jacob took a deep breath, putting one step on the rope and testing it. Taking a deep breath, Jacob wandered onto the rope, his arms out-stretched as he desperately tried to walk across without wobbling too much.

He made it about halfway across, before wobbling violently, his arms waving in the air as he tried to regain his balance…. Only to fall into the water with a loud splash.

Malik scowled as the rest of the class laughed good-naturedly, watching as Jacob splashed about in the water, spluttering until he saw some of his friends grinning at him. Sheepishly, he spiked up his hair and laughed along with them.

This continued until he caught Malik's eye and flushed under the disappointed stare he was getting.

**** End Flashback ****

"He was a disappointment then, and yes, whilst he did improve…. I can't see him becoming a Master Assassin."

Altair rolled his eyes, "Jacob is not a child anymore. You may not have realised this, but he's recently turned twenty. He's an adult and he's changed."

"That's your opinion."

"It's not just my opinion, it's what I've seen and experienced whilst working with him."

Malik frowned, "I can't recall a time where you've ever worked with Jacob."

"Really? Don't you remember the trafficking problem in Egypt?"

"…. The Templar fraction who decided to enslave a whole village in order to get financing from the… less moral individuals in society?"

"Precisely. Jacob was one of the Young Assassins sent on that mission with me, and that mission proved to me, that Jacob could have been a great Master."

Malik clearly didn't believe him as Altair cast his thoughts back to the mission in question.

** Flashback **

"Mister Frye…. Mister Frye!"

Startled out of his thoughts by Grandmaster Altair's cautious approach, Jacob instinctively straightened up. "Grandmaster…. Sir?"

Altair glanced down at the boy's wrist and frowned, "Maybe you want to disengage your hidden blades?"

This was when Jacob realised that his blades could still be seen…. The blood of the targets still dripping down to the sand.

Altair watched as a shudder went through Jacob's body. The young boy quickly wiped the blades and sheathed them.

"I-I-I…"

Altair nodded in understanding at Jacob's unsaid statement. "I know young one, but it was the only thing we could have done to force their hands."

The Templar slavery faction was a family run business, with many leaders having sons in lower positions. As a last resort, the Council decided that in order to force their hands, the Assassins would kill the sons to weaken the Fathers.

The aftermath was devastating. The cries of the Templar families could be heard echoing throughout the streets.

"I know this is hard Jacob…" whispered Altair, encouraging Jacob to walk forwards as the liberated prisoners rushed for the edge of the town, hoping to get to freedom before the leaders got themselves together, "… but we need to go."

"One of them was about my age…" Jacob whispered, "… I know they were as bad as their parents, but- but- "

"I know…" whispered Altair, as they continued to move with the crowd, "… I know"

As the large crowd moved out of the town, with many people cheering and celebrating their liberation, the Assassins kept a cautious eye on their surroundings, knowing that the Templars wouldn't let them go so easily.

As the large group reached the left side of a shallow lake, with a few Assassins going forwards in order to test the depth and risk level of the lake, there was suddenly a loud commotion from behind them. Spinning around, Altair was dismayed to see almost 50 Templars at the top of the hill

With only five assassins, the threat still wasn't great… but who knows how many innocent civilians they would kill.

"Jacob, create a distraction!" ordered Altair as the ex-captives all began to scream and panic, "Try and keep them as far away as possible!"

Nodding, Jacob reached into an inside pocket and pulled out several flash bombs, hoping to stun some of the Templar's long enough to assassinate them. As the rest of the Assassins helped the captives and their belongings across the lake, Jacob threw bomb after bomb, causing Templars to step back in shock and shield their eyes from the bright light.

Once their eyes were covered, Jacob was able to make the killing blow, often managing to assassinate at least five before the effects of one bomb wore off.

Meanwhile, Altair was trying not to lose his patience as the ex-captives tried to get all their belongings across the lake, not just the essentials. "Leave it!" he ordered a young lady, who was trying to grab her hat as it flew off her head, "Go, go, go!"

As he slowly ran out of flash bombs, Jacob pulled some gunpowder out of his pocket and made a thin, long line in front of him, as though drawing a line between him and the floundering Templars. Sprinting away, he pulled a spare lighter out of his pocket and lit it up, throwing it onto the gunpowder line as the final distraction fell into place.

With the gunpowder settling alight, the Templars were distracted long enough for the remainder of the ex-captives to cross the lake. After Jacob sprinted over, he frowned at the Grandmaster. "That's not going to keep them distracted for much longer. How do we stop them from crossing the lake as well and following us?"

Altair glanced over at where the Templars were starting to gather once again, still encouraging the captives to continue moving. "We need to block their access to the lake…" he muttered, clearly deep in thought, his eyes scanning their surroundings until they landed on the large boulder piles that lined the valley they had travelled down, "… I don't suppose you have any- "

Before he could finish, Jacob rushed past him, spinning round to grin at him as he passed. "I'm way ahead of you Grandmaster!"

"Jacob, wait!"

Watching in alarm, Altair saw Jacob clamber up the boulder piles, pulling something out of his pocket and placing it at the top. After pressing something, Jacob moved to rush back to the main group… only to find his path blocked by several Templars.

"Where d'ya think yer going?" snarled a particularly large man, "We ain't finished with you yet."

"No? Well I'm finished with you."

BANG

Altair watched in alarm as the top boulder seemed to shatter into hundreds of pieces, causing the pile to become unstable with the force of the explosion and sending large rocks crumbling down… towards Jacob and the Templars.

"JACOB!"

When the dust from the rock-slide faded away, Altair moved to cross the lake again, hoping that his worst fears were unfounded. Yes, the Templars wouldn't be able to come any closer, but at what cost?

"JACOB!"

"Grandmaster! Grandmaster Altair!"

Altair span around to see Jacob sitting in the lake, his clothes soaked right through as his hat floated away.

"Y-you have no idea how close I came to missing the lake…" Jacob muttered, pushing himself to his feet as his teeth chattered, "… I-I misjudged the distance slightly."

Helping the young man to his feet, Altair couldn't help but shake his head in relief. "I thought you'd been crushed… What were you thinking?!"

"I didn't know the Templars would block me!"

"Placing the bomb on such a short timer was extremely risky. You could have been seriously injured."

"But the captives would have been able to get away."

Altair paused at this. Jacob didn't sound worried about his own death… he just wanted to make sure that the group they had saved, stayed safe.

"Jacob… whilst I admire your conviction, there are people who would miss you as well. Yes, Assassins should do whatever it takes to keep society in a peaceful state…. But risking their own lives is a last resort, understood?"

"Yes Grandmaster."

** End Flashback **

"So, he was reckless..." stated Malik in confusion, "…not a decent quality for an Assassin. You of all people should realise this."

Wincing at the reminder of his past, Altair shook his head. "Don't you realise… Jacob was willing to sacrifice his own life so that others could remain free. You can talk about him being a poor Assassin all you want, but in my eyes, Jacob would have been the perfect Assassin."

"… Well I guess we'll never know now will we."

"No… no we won't"


	8. Claudia

Alright, these are mini stories that will take place in the Modern Assassin's Creed universe that I'm writing. These will help to develop and explain the different relationships within the main story, without me going off on a tangent during the main story.

I hope you enjoy them, and please read and review :)

…..

Claudia watched as her Mother exited Ezio's room, a persistent frown making its way onto the older woman face.

"Mama?" she whispered, easing the door open a little more, "Mama, what's happened?"

Her mother sighed, gently gesturing for Claudia to go back into her room, before following her in there.

"There's been…. An incident." Maria answered

"An incident? Is it to do with the bombings…. Which, of course, I know nothing about!"

Maria clearly didn't believe her daughter, but continued anyway. "Then you didn't know, of course, that Jacob Frye was arrested for the crime."

Claudia didn't know that, but she kept her face neutral… Jacob couldn't have done it, so there was no need to act like a child. She was almost an adult now.

"… He was expelled from the Creed."

Now this got Claudia's attention.

"What?!" she exclaimed, "Why?! He couldn't have done it! Jacob isn't like that!"

Maria shook her head in sadness, "The evidence seemed to be against him, and the majority of the council agreed that it might be wiser to distance themselves from him."

"Even Father?"

After some hesitation, Maria nodded.

Claudia thought she was going to explode in anger, spinning around and running her fingers through her hair in frustration. "How could he…" she hissed, "… Jacob's never done anything to hurt this family or the Creed.!"

"It wasn't that simple love."

After pacing for a few moments, Claudia sighed. "Well, I bet he was innocent."

"… Yes, he was."

"I'll have to go and see hi- "

Before she could finish, Maria shook her head sadly. "You can't go and see him."

"Is he hurt?!"

"No… I'm afraid Jacob chose not to come back to the Creed and therefore, has left the village."

There was a brief silence, before Claudia rushed out of the room, heading for the front door… until she was caught by her Father. "Get off me!" she yelled, tugging against Giovanni's grip, "Maybe someone can still catch up to him!"

"It's too late…" Giovanni murmured, "… he left late last night. He'll be long gone by now."

Claudia continued to struggle, until she finally went limp. "… I hate you." She whispered, "Jacob didn't do anything and you kicked him out. He left because of you!"

Before her Father could reply, Claudia ripped herself out of his arms and stormed back to her room. She knew that her Father might assume that she had a crush on Ezio's friend (and that might have been true a few years ago), but she considered Jacob to be her friend.

** Flashback **

"Bastard…" Claudia muttered, as she struck her pillow again and again and again, "Bastard!"

"Kid?"

In surprise, Claudia pushed herself up onto her elbows, and glanced over to the doorway. Standing there, a bag of crisps in his hand and leaning against the door frame, was Jacob Frye.

Ezio and Jacob were best friends, so it wasn't a surprise to see the older teen in the house…. But he and Claudia didn't really interact.

She was the baby sister after all.

Jacob had been spending a lot of time there after…. After Ezio and Claudia lost their siblings to the Templars. Ezio believed that it was his fault, and Giovanni thought it was his fault…. Everyone in the house avoided one another, all grieving alone.

Maria spent her days in the main bedroom, going through Petruccio's old feather collection.

Ezio spent as much time as he could, training and being with his friends.

Giovanni threw himself into council work.

Claudia… well, Claudia hung out with her boyfriend…. Her scumbag boyfriend.

"Is everything alright?" Jacob asked, not venturing any further into the room, "There's an awful lot of foul language coming from someone of your age."

"… He cheated on me."

Frowning, Jacob moved further into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. "On you? It must have been a step down… who told you?"

Claudia sniffed, "The other girls from outside the village… I thought they were my friends."

Before Jacob could reassure her, probably with comments about them or him not deserving her, Claudia snarled in anger. "I want him to suffer if he has cheated on me!"

At her anger, Jacob leaned back (away from her) in shock. "W-well…" he stuttered, "… maybe I should go and have a word with him?"

"Yeah! I'll come with you!"

Before Jacob could say or do anything, Claudia grabbed him by the hand and tugged him out the Auditore mansion and then out of the Assassin village altogether.

"Where are we going?!"

Claudia twisted around to smirk at Jacob, "I know exactly where that bastard is!" she exclaimed, "He's very religious about keeping his Facebook up-to-date."

"Oh…."

A few minutes later, the pair arrived in a courtyard, where Claudia's boyfriend Duccio was with another girl.

"Oh Duccio!" the girl gasped, raising her hand in the air to admire a gorgeous diamond ring, "It's beautiful!"

"Nothing but the best for you il mio amore!"

"But what about Claudia?" the girl questioned, pushing Duccio away when he tried to kiss her, "You're dating her aren't you?"

"Father says I can do much better than an Auditore."

He pinched his… friends butt, causing her to squeal and push him away (despite her flushed cheeks and laughter). "Come. Let's go for a walk." She giggled.

"Walk? I had something else in mind."

"Oh Duccio!"

Jacob winced at this, gently taking a hold of Claudia's arm as she growled under her breath.

"Bastardo…" she hissed, trying to yank her arm away, "… I'm going to kill him."

She continued to swear quietly as Jacob pulled her back.

"Let me deal with this…" he whispered in her ear, slowly letting her go as he strode up to Duccio, his black boots stomping on the cobblestones.

"Hey! Dickhead!"

Duccio span around and frowned at the sight, "Hey, aren't you one of Ezio's- UMPH!"

Before he could finish the sentence, Jacob's fist flew out and cracked against Duccio's chin.

"Dickhead…" muttered Jacob, before he straightened up and glared at the other young man, "… Something is wrong with you Duccio. You have the love of a beautiful young girl, and yet you hang out with this…. Woman."

The other woman seemed to sense that Jacob wanted to say something far worse, and flushed in shame.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" exclaimed Duccio

"I've seen what you've given her… heard what you've said."

"… Well maybe Claudia shouldn't be so frigid!"

Before Jacob could say anything, he heard Claudia's cry of outrage as she came storming up behind them.

"You broke my heart you figlio di puttana!" She hissed through her teeth, "And for that, I'm going to break your face!"

As she leapt at Duccio (who, like the coward he was, took a step back in alarm), Jacob managed to catch her mid-air and set her back on the ground.

"Your brother would kill me if he knew that I was going to let you fight like a common street kid…" he sighed, wincing as Claudia tried to kick her way to freedom, "… just let me deal with it, alright?"

Before she could answer, Jacob span around and punched Duccio in the face again.

After that, the fight was over embarrassingly quickly.

It only took a few punches for Duccio to fall back against the wall, holding his hands up in surrender as he tried to protect his face. Keeping his distance from Jacob, Duccio ran for it…. Leaving his new woman behind.

Shaking his head, Jacob turned his attention back to Claudia, who practically flew into his arms.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed, "That was amazing!"

"Thanks…. Let's get out of here before Duccio decides to whine to the police."

**End Flashback **

Claudia sighed at the memory, reaching over and opening a bedside drawer, pulling out a photo album. Flicking through the pages, she eventually came to a large photo that covered an entire page.

It was taken for her photography class in her first year of high school.

The theme was freedom and the picture consisted of all the older students, who now made up the Young Assassin team, all standing side by side at the edge of a high rooftop. The sun was setting behind them and they all had a look of peace on their faces as they prepared to take the 'Leap of Faith.'

It was a beautiful photo which used to make her happy.

Now it just made her feel melancholy.


	9. Elise de la Serre

Alright, these are mini stories that will take place in the Modern Assassin's Creed universe that I'm writing. These will help to develop and explain the different relationships within the main story, without me going off on a tangent during the main story.

I hope you enjoy them, and please read and review J

…..

"I had a feeling you'd be up here."

Arno ignored the soft voice, continuing to stare out into the distance, as Elise sat down beside him. Her red curls seemed to shimmer in the light of the setting sun, but Arno didn't even focus on that.

He had other things to worry about.

"… I heard about what happened. To Jacob, I mean."

Arno flinched, "I bet the entire town has heard about it by now. No surprise that the Templars have caught wind of it…. Shay was one of you."

"One of the extremer groups maybe, one of Starrick's… but I assure you, that my group had nothing to do with Shay's recruitment."

"Ha!"

She placed a gentle hand on Arno's leg, softly encouraging her oldest friend and partner to look at her. "I promise you… I have never contacted Shay, let alone recruited him into the Templars."

There was a brief moment of silence, before Arno sighed, "I believe you… but he's gone, and that's all that matters now."

"… I can have some people watch him if you'd like? Keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble?"

Arno thought about it for a brief moment, before shaking his head. "No…. let him have some peace before we all start pestering him…. He'll be back before we know it anyway."

Elise nodded in understanding, allowing Arno some peace as her thoughts turned to Jacob. They hadn't really talked much, with her being a member of a sub-set of Templars and him an assassin.

But he was still a friend.

Even more so ever since they'd worked together against Starrick's branch of the Templar organisation.

****Flashback******

"Is this it?"

Elise glanced around the dirty camp, "It appears so… what can you tell me about this place?"

"… Why would you ask me that?"

"You're an expert on the world wars… you know everything about them, and this is clearly a second world war camp."

Jacob flushed slightly upon being called an expert, nodding in agreement. "Yeah… in fact, I think this is one was a training camp for the Creed back when the war broke out. Are you sure the transmission came from here?"

"Positive…" Elise glanced around, before smirking, "… I think it's dark enough to do some sneaking around, right?"

"It's like you read my mind."

…

"Well this is a dead end…" Elise eventually decided, "… no heat signatures, no signal, not even radio waves. Someone must have re-routed the signal to throw people off."

Jacob was about to agree… until he spotted something in the distance.

"What is it Jacob?"

He started to head over to a small bunker, "I remember reading something when I was researching these old bases… ammunition shouldn't be stored within 500 yards of the barracks. This building is in the wrong place."

Quickly, the lock was picked, and they gained access to the building, heading down into the dusty rooms. When they flicked the light on, they spotted a familiar symbol on the wall.

"You were right…" Elise sighed, "… this was a Creed training ground."

As they looked around, they spotted two familiar faces on the wall.

"Grandmaster Altair and Malik?" Jacob exclaimed in surprise, "They trained here?"

The photos on the wall were clearly of the Creed's Grandmaster and his husband, and from the look of it, it was when Altair first became Grandmaster.

"Grandmaster Altair travelled here from Jerusalem…" Jacob began, "… with all the issues and betrayal in the Creed, he thought it would be best to set up the Creed in another country… far away from anyone who may have been influenced by the old Grandmaster. This must have been where it all started."

Distracted, Jacob headed further into the room…. And then he heard the sound of wind whistling through a small gap. The high-pitched sound was coming from the shelves.

"If you're already working in a secret office…" He pulled the shelves to one side, to reveal metal doors, "… then why hide the elevator?" He then turned to Elise and grinned at her, pulling something out of his pocket, "This'll be a good time to test Leo's latest invention."

"Oh?"

"A new hacking device…." He aimed it at the elevator keypad, "…it's meant to hack any electronic lock in under five seconds. You might want to take a step back though."

Elise frowned as Jacob shrugged.

"It's a prototype… Leo's inventions have a habit of exploding at this stage."

The light on the keypad flickered green, and the doors slid open. Together, they entered the elevator and headed down. When the doors opened once again, they stepped out into a large metal room, that had computers lining every wall.

In the centre of the room, there was a large desk that had an old-fashioned computer on it.

"This can't be the source of the transmission…" Elise sighed, "… this technology is ancient." It was then, her eyes fell on something rather peculiar…. A modern USB port. Without even thinking, she plugged the USB she had brought with her into the machine.

Within seconds, everything whirred to life.

On the large computer in the middle, the words 'Initiate system?' appeared on the screen, prompting Elise to make her way over. "Y… E… S, spells yes!"

The computers whirred again as Elise span around and smirked at Jacob. "Shall we play a game?"

"You're not funny."

"I'm hilarious."

On the screen, hundreds of files sounded to load onto the screen.

"There's one labelled Frye family…" Elise noticed, "… and another one labelled De La Serre. In fact, I think there's a file for every Assassin family, and Templar families who don't support Starrick's way of thinking."

"Well that's… creepy."

"Tell me about it… I knew this USB contained some damning evidence, but nothing like this!"

They examined all the files, until one caught Jacob's eye. "Operation Paperclip…" he pointed at the file, "… what's that?"

Elise clicked on the file and scanned over what was said. "Hmmm, it seems like it was a brief alliance between Templars and Assassins…. Brilliant minds from both sides were brought together as strategic value." She frowned, "It would explain why certain fractions of the Templar organisations have grown over the last fifty years."

"I thought the Templar numbers decreased during the Victorian era?"

"Not really…. We're like cockroaches that way. Well certain, groups of Templars are anyway." She clicked on another file, "We should be able to get more information here. Future projects, things like that."

"Great… and then can we leave this place?"

Elise smirked, "Scared Jacob?"

"No! But if Evie and my Dad knew that I was here with you, then my life wouldn't be worth living!"

"… Good point... this file mostly talks about why the Templar order exists, it's overall plans for humanity…. Things like that. There's a list of people they've had to… remove from the public eye due to their resistance."

Jacob scanned his own eyes over the list, frowning at some of the names that he saw. "Some of these were classed as accidents."

"That's how the Templar order prefers it…. Less attention from the police… the one's that can't be bribed."

Then, they both noticed a sub-file, labelled 'Project Purificent'.

"I'm almost afraid to ask…" Jacob began, "… but what do you think that is?"

"Let's find out."

She clicked on the file.

*****End Flashback****

Needless to say, Project Purificent was one of the deadliest plans the Templars had ever cooked up, and it was only thanks to her and Jacob's snooping around, that the plan was stopped.

It was still in its' early stages, so it wasn't exactly hard.

Jacob was one of the few members who didn't treat her like dirt, just because she was raised as a Templar. At first, she used to think it was just him rebelling against his Father (who definitely didn't like her), but after time, she realised that was just how he was.

He didn't care about her being a Templar… he just saw her as a friend…. A friend who could drink him under the table.

…. She was actually going to miss him.


	10. Achilles

Alright, these are mini stories that will take place in the Modern Assassin's Creed universe that I'm writing. These will help to develop and explain the different relationships within the main story, without me going off on a tangent during the main story.

I hope you enjoy them, and please read and review J

…..

"Connor?"

Silence.

"Connor, please…." Achilles limped forwards in order to try and catch up with his young student, "… You don't understand Connor!"

"I don't need to understand anything, except for the fact that you kicked my best friend out of the Creed!"

Achilles winced at the venom in the younger man's voice, usually reserved for Charles Lee. "…. For all we knew, Jacob was a traitor. The only reasonable course was to- "

"- to stand behind him as a Creed! Not cast him out, abandon him!"

"Jacob was the one who wanted to leave… he was the one who made that choice, not us!"

"No…" Conner span around and glared at the older man, "… Jacob chose to stay away. You were the ones who cast him out of the Creed!"

Achilles couldn't argue with that, turning away from Conner's accusing stare. He had a good point… Jacob didn't actually leave the Creed, he just chose not to come back.

Sensing that he had gotten through to Achilles, Conner continued to storm off, leaving a shell-shocked Achilles behind. The older man slowly limped over to the nearby wall and leant against it, sliding down the wall until he was seated.

It had been a terrible few hours, and he felt as though his heart couldn't take anymore.

First, the shock of Jacob's 'betrayal', and then the realisation that it was Shay Patrick Cormac who had betrayed the Creed… a student he had personally taken under his wing, guilty of such a crime.

And then, Jacob leaving for good.

He knew that it wasn't fair… he knew that Jacob didn't deserve any of what had happened to him.

Jacob reminded him a lot of Shay when the Irish boy first came to the Creed…reckless, cocky… but Jacob had a softer side that Shay often lacked.

In fact, he could still remember how he found out about Jacob's softer side.

*****Flashback*****

Achilles enjoyed his daily walk through the gardens. Snow had been falling all night, and the ground was covered with a white blanket, crisp and new.

It was so peaceful.

Well… almost peaceful.

Near the main fountain, he could hear someone cursing under their breath and the sound of something tapping against the frozen water.

"Bloody kids…" he grumbled under his breath, making his way over, "… can't just stay inside like anyone else."

He limped closer, stabbing his cane into the snow as he grumbled angrily. Rounding the corner, he quickly spotted a familiar teen sitting on the edge of the fountain.

"And may I ask what you're doing out here Mister Frye?"

Jacob flinched and span around, a guilty look on his face. "Master Davenport! I-I-I- "

"Everyone else is inside, and yet you're out here…. Why?"

"…. I was just thinking."

Stunned by the uncharacteristic seriousness in Jacob's voice, Achilles came closer, frowning as he saw how Jacob seemed to shrink away from him. "What were you thinking about?"

"… If Connor told you he liked boys and not girls, what would you say?"

Achilles frowned, "Connor is not my son… I have no opinion on the matter."

"…."

"Alright…" Achilles sighed and though to himself for a few moments, "… I would be shocked yes, but I wouldn't be angry. People can be cruel…. They might treat him differently, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

"… Would you be upset that he hadn't told you sooner?"

"It's his choice…. But yes, I think a little part of me would think he didn't trust me."

Jacob seemed to curl up even further at that, a seriously depressed look on his face.

"So, who's the lucky boy Jacob?"

This time, Jacob definitely did flinch… angling himself away from Achilles.

"Jacob… you can tell me. I promise I won't say anything to your Father or anyone else."

There was a brief moment of silence, before Jacob whispered something.

"I'm an old man Jacob, you need to speak up."

"I said… I don't know his name. He's just someone I see walking up to the college every morning."

"… He's older than you I assume?"

Jacob nodded, "A little…. Maybe around twentyish? Not that much older!"

"Hmmmm… and have you ever spoken to him?"

Shaking his head, Jacob flushed.

"And do you know what he's studying?"

Another shake of the head.

"…. Have you told anyone else? Aside from me?"

Achilles couldn't help but frown at the dejected look on Jacob's face. "No…" the fifteen-year-old whispered, "… I can't tell anyone else. Father already hates me."

"No, he doesn't…" Achilles knew he sounded stern, but he needed to get this through Jacob's skull, "… Ethan Frye does not hate you."

"…. Then why can't he ever look me in the eye?!"

He knew… everyone in the village knew. After the death of Ethan Frye's wife, the man had sent his children away… even when they were brought back to the village, it was clear that Ethan saw both of his children in a different light.

Evie was clearly the favourite… whereas Jacob was so much like his Mother, that Ethan could barely deal with it, often lashing out at his son.

Nobody could miss it, least of all, Jacob.

"… It's a tricky situation with your Father." Achilles tried to explain, "He does love you Jacob, and if you did tell him, then he will not view you any differently because of it."

"You don't know that."

"Yes… I do." Achilles gently placed his hand on Jacob's shoulder, "Your Father loves you, and even if you did something terrible, he would still love you… not that loving another man is terrible of course." He hastily tried to explain himself, knowing that any wrong word could make Jacob clam up again.

"… Do you really think he won't mind?"

"I do believe so… and if he does have a problem, you are surrounded by friends who will help you." Achilles tried to give the fifteen-year-old a reassuring smile, "You may even have to stop your friends from taking down your Father is he does upset you… which he won't."

Jacob still didn't seem sure, but Achilles knew he had said all he could. Now it was up to Jacob.

"When the time comes, you'll know what to say."

******* End Flashback ********

"Achilles?"

Achilles glanced up from his position on the ground, staring up at Ethan Frye…. Who looked as though he'd aged ten years in the hours that it had been since Jacob's departure.

"Are you alright?"

The older man nodded, "I was just…. Thinking of Jacob."

Ethan nodded, "I think that's what everyone is doing nowadays."

"Do you remember a conversation that you had with him…. When he was fifteen? A very important one?"

Frowning, Ethan shook his head. "You can't expect me to remember that far back…. Besides, all I remember are arguments with Jacob when he was that age, nothing stands out."

Was it possible that Jacob never told his Father? Achilles hoped that that wasn't the case, that Ethan had merely forgotten.

He doubted it though…. Jacob was definitely nervous on the day that he spoke to him, and if he didn't tell it Father, it wouldn't have been a surprise.

"Don't worry about it…" Achilles eventually sighed, "… I'm sure it's not that important."


	11. Leonardo

Alright, these are mini stories that will take place in the Modern Assassin's Creed universe that I'm writing. These will help to develop and explain the different relationships within the main story, without me going off on a tangent during the main story.

I hope you enjoy them, and please read and review J

…..

Leonardo frowned as his call to Ezio went straight to voicemail once again.

He knew Jacob's trial was today and had been trying to get into contact with him for hours.

Nothing.

Hence the reason why he was now heading to the Auditore Mansion in the hope he could see Ezio face to face.

It was strange not having Ezio there to meet him after he'd finished his studies, as the younger teen was often happy to help him carry his art supplies home…. But Ezio was nowhere to be seen.

As he walked up the steps to the mansion, Leonardo frowned when he noticed just how quiet the Assassin town was. There didn't appear to be any sound coming from within the house either.

It was almost deserted.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Leonardo waited for a time, before knocking again.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Eventually the door opened and Giovanni Auditore stared out.

"Oh…" the older man sighed, "… hello Leonardo. I am sorry, but this isn't a good- You know, actually, maybe you'd better come in."

Leonardo followed the man inside, frowning when he saw Claudia storm past her Father, not even looking at him.

"I-i-is everything alright?" Leonardo stammered, un-nerved by the silence that filled the house, "I-I-I know Jacob's trial was today and- "

"- You had better go and speak to Ezio." Giovanni interrupted, "I believe he's in his room."

"… Of course."

Without another word, Giovanni walked away, heading towards his study.

The situation was similar as to when Federico Auditore and Petruccio Auditore, Ezio's older and younger brother's respectively, were murdered by the Templar's almost 3 years ago.

Leonardo knew what that probably meant.

He rushed up the stairs, barely pausing for breath as he burst into Ezio's room. "Ezio?! Ezio?!"

Ezio barely glanced at him, keeping his eyes on the ceiling as he sighed deeply. "Sorry Leo…" he muttered, "… I-I completely forgot about the time, I-I'll make it up to you tomorrow."

"… What happened?"

"Hmmm?"

Leo took a seat on the bed, gently placing his hand on Ezio's shoulder. "Jacob…. Was- was he found guilty and- "

"- No." Ezio growled, "Jacob wasn't found guilty."

"Then, surely that's a good thing? Why isn't everyone- "

"- Because he's gone!"

Leonardo flinched back, quickly removing his hand from Ezio' shoulder, frowning as Ezio groaned and pushed himself into a seated position.

"I'm sorry…" Ezio sighed, pulling his boyfriend into a hug, "… I'm so sorry. It's just- " he took a deep breath, "- Do you remember when I told you that the Council kicked Jacob out of the Creed before the trial?"

"Sì."

"Well… we managed to find who was really behind the bombing."

"Who?"

"Shay Patrick Cormac."

Leonardo frowned at this, as Ezio continued. "He was the one behind it all, and he tried to frame Jacob. Jacob was kicked out of the Creed before the trial… and when he was proven innocent, Jacob decided to stay out of the Creed."

"So… he's no longer an Assassin?"

"… He's no longer here. In the village."

"Dio mio!" Leonardo exclaimed, "He left?!"

"When the Council offered to let him back into the Creed, he decided against it… I don't blame him really." Ezio glared in the direction of the door, "My Father and almost everyone on that Council didn't stick by him, and Jacob knew that if it happened again, then there was a chance he would be kicked out again."

"So, he left?" Leonardo shook his head in disbelief, "What about his friends? Evie? Ethan? Freddie?"

Ezio sighed, "We all tried to stop him, Evie most of all… and you know his relationship with his Papa's been tense. Nothing we said made any difference though… Jacob's gone."

Watching as his boyfriend curled up on his side, Leonardo lay next to him, staring up at the ceiling…. Jacob was gone… actually gone.

As Ezio's boyfriend, he often hung out with Jacob as well…. the younger man was a fantastic violin player, a true artist, even though he couldn't do anything with that skill.

Maybe that's what Jacob would do now that he was out of the Creed. Leonardo allowed himself a fond smile… Jacob Frye, a concert violinist, playing at the Albert hall.

It was wishful thinking.

Jacob had the skill, but he was always shy when performing in front of others. Even when it was one on one, Jacob was shy.

*******Flashback******

"That's amazing! Fantastico!"

Jacob yelped, almost dropping his violin to the ground. "Leo, I- "

"- You play beautifully." Leo stepped closer, his eyes examining the instrument, "A Knilling, right?"

"… Yeah. How did you know?"

Leo leaned forwards, "Perfection pegs…. It's beautiful. They are very expensive though."

"I saved up from my part time job…. Dad wouldn't get me one."

"Ah… is he why your music sounded so sad?"

Jacob glanced up from where he was twiddling with the pegs, wincing as he spotted Leonardo's knowing look. "…We had a fight… another one. I wanted to entire the town's talent competition with my violin… Dad said no." He then scoffed, "Actually, he told me I wasn't good enough to enter any talent contest, and that I needed to get my head on straight and focus on being a good little Assassin."

Wincing, Leonardo reached out and gently patted the younger teen on the shoulder. "I know I shouldn't encourage this, but you should enter anyway."

"You really think so?"

"I'm an artist, I know talent when I hear it."

Jacob was silent for a few moments, before smirking. "Does… Ezio have that talent?"

"…. He-he can- "

"- Just say no Leo. Ezio knows about four chords and can barely sing…. And you know it."

"Ezio…" Leo chuckled, "… has a very particular set of skills. But no, singing and playing the guitar is not one of them."

A comfortable silence fell between the two, as Jacob continued to tune the violin.

"Why don't you play something?"

Jacob frowned at his friend, raising an eyebrow in a silent question.

"Play something a little cheerier… Disney or something!"

"… I don't remember Disney films being totally cheery, but alright." He cleared his throat, "Here we go."

From the very first notes, Leo knew exactly which song it was.

"Little town, full of little people…" he sang softly, smiling as Jacob started to lose himself in the music. At first it was Belle, and then Jacob moved swiftly onto Something There without playing a wrong note.

The song sounded crisp and pure, as though it was coming from a concert hall.

Something There came to an end, and then Jacob started to play Gaston.

With the upbeat tune, Leonardo started to tap his feet, grinning as Jacob's lower half started to move along with the beat as well.

When Gaston merged into Be Our Guest, Jacob couldn't resist. With one swift movement, he leapt to his feet and started to twirl around the room, feet tapping along to the beat as he went. This upbeat tune lasted for quite a while (clearly one of Jacob's favourites), until it finally slowed down and slowly changed to the main theme, Beauty and the Beast.

When Jacob played that last note, Leonardo couldn't help but jump to his feet, clapping widely. "È stato fantastico!" he cheered in Italian, "Fantastic! How did you learn to play so well?!"

Jacob blushed at the praise, seating opposite Leo again, "My Grandma handed me my first violin when I was old enough to hold one… she always said I needed to put my energy to good use." He sighed sadly, "I go and play for her every so often. Her memory's not what it once was but she still likes the music."

Frowning, Leo leaned forwards. "Does Evie or your Father enjoy the music you play for her?"

"… I tend to make those visits alone." Jacob chuckled nervously, "I go with them on the weekly visits, but the solo trips are nice as well."

"… I think you should join that talent show."

Jacob's eyes widened in shock, "… What?"

"Join. The. Talent. Show." Leo emphasised, "Don't tell your Father, sign up and we'll all cheer you one when you reach the final stage."

"All?"

Leo nodded eagerly, "All your friends, I'll let them all know secretly what's happening, and that's that!"

"I-I don't think…" Jacob stopped in his tracks, before sighing. "… Maybe… I'll think about."

*******End Flashback******

Jacob never did enter that talent show…. Leo sighed at the memory. Jacob's Father kept him busy with Assassin training whenever he thought Jacob was slipping… which seemed to be always according to Mr Frye.

"What are you thinking about?"

Leonardo sighed, rolling over to face Ezio. "I was just- Did you know Jacob could play the violin…. Beautifully by the way. He had real talent."

Frowning, Ezio shook his head. "No… he never told any of us, well, except you apparently?"

"I found out by accident… a happy accident, but an accident nonetheless."

"Do you think that's what he's going to do?" Ezio asked, "Do you think he's going to play his violin as a street performer or something?"

"… I don't know."

"I hope he does…" Ezio eventually decided, "… I don't want to think of him wandering everywhere alone… he'll be happy playing the violin."

"Yes…" Leo smiled fondly at the memory of Jacob's pleased smile when he playing, "… yes, I think he will."


	12. Haytham and Ziio

Alright, these are mini-stories that will take place in the Modern Assassin's Creed universe that I'm writing. These will help to develop and explain the different relationships within the main story, without me going off on a tangent during the main story.

I hope you enjoy them, and please read and review J

…..

"Haytham?"

His wife's voice sounded like it was underwater…. Only he could think about was Jacob's betrayed voice.

"Haytham, what happened?"

He'd warned the Council what would happen if they made this decision… the decision to kick Jacob out of the Creed.

"Ratonhnhaké:ton's not answering his phone…. Haytham! Haytham!"

Finally, as Ziio shook him by the shoulder, Haytham was startled out of his thoughts, shaking his head sadly as she knelt in front of him.

"Haytham… what happened?"

"…. Jacob's gone."

Ziio's face went pale for a brief second, "Gone as in- "

"- No. He was found innocent… turns out Shay was the traitor."

"Shay?" Ziio frowned, "Didn't you train him?"

"When Achilles couldn't manage it anymore, yes… but I never thought he'd do something like this." Haytham shot to his feet and started to pace around the room, "He framed Jacob deliberately, set him up, and only confessed when Arno confronted him…. He was willing to let Jacob die in order to betray the Creed."

"So… why are you saying Jacob is gone?"

"…. Because he chose not to come back to the Creed… he chose to leave the village entirely."

"… He's left his sister, father, friends…. Freddie?"

Haytham nodded sadly, "Everyone… you might not hear from Connor for a while. He was… he was very upset afterward."

Moving to take a seat next to her husband, Ziio rested her head on his shoulder. "… I'm sorry…" she whispered, "… I know you would have tried to stop him from being expelled from the Creed in the first place."

"It was only me and Grandmaster Altair who did protest."

"… I'm sorry."

There was silence for a time, with Ziio gently rubbing Haytham's back as a soothing gesture… and then she chuckled.

"Do you remember the first mission you sent him on?"

"…. The one at the bank?"

"No… the very first mission… he would have been about seven?"

Haytham thought to himself for a few moments, before suddenly clicking his fingers in realization. "When Evie was in trouble at the school… she got put in detention for something that wasn't even her fault."

"Hmmm, Jacob was being bullied by one of the older children, so Evie punched the kid in the face."

"And the bully got nothing, yes I remember…" Haytham smirked, "… Ethan was very annoyed if I remember correctly."

"Very… but then you came up with Jacob's first assassin mission."

"Get proof that the boy was bullying him, video required… stealthily give the evidence to the Headmaster and act innocent when the time came." Haytham then frowned, "I can't actually remember why the Headmaster wasn't involved in the first place?"

"The bully was the teacher's son."

"Ah yes…. It's all coming back to me now."

******Flashback*********

"It wasn't fair!" Connor exclaimed, pouting furiously as Jacob sat beside him, "Gary was pushing Jacob to the ground and against the wall! Evie should have hit him harder!"

"And this… Gary received no punishment?" Haytham frowned, "That doesn't seem very fair."

"Mrs. Ingram caught Evie, and Gary is her son."

"Ah… that makes sense."

"What are we going to do Daddy?"

Haytham glanced at Ethan, who was trying to get into contact with the school and then at Jacob, who was staring at the ground. "I think we're going to have to get a little bit creative… Connor, would you give me a moment alone with Jacob?"

Connor clearly didn't want to, but nodded anyway and raced out of the room, probably going to see his mother.

Once he was sure that Connor wasn't coming back anytime soon, and that Ethan was distracted, Haytham went to go sit by Jacob, clearing throat in order to get the child's attention.

"You want to help your sister, don't you?"

Jacob slowly glanced up at him, before nodding.

"Then you need to get proof that this Gary has been bullying you." Upon noticing that Jacob had a large bruise on his face, Haytham amended the statement, "Evidence that she can't explain away by saying you were in a fight."

Jacob sniffed, rubbing his nose with his sleeve (and then accepting Haytham's hanky when he handed it over). "So… how do I get proof?"

"With this." Haytham pulled something out of his front jacket pocket, "A wireless camera that transmits the footage directly to a laptop. We'll put this in your school blazer and that should get the proof."

"Then what?"

"Then I'll lead you through a stealth mission and the footage will go on the Headmaster's desk. He'll have to do something then."

Jacob was silent for a short time, before nodding nervously, a look od determination flashing across his face.

"Okay, let's do it."

…..

The footage was pretty damning.

This Gary child clearly thought the world owed him and some of the languages that he used would get any other child grounded until they were actually old enough to use that kind of language.

But it was proof.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Jacob asked nervously, hands gripping at his seat-belt as they drove back to the school, "I don't wanna get into more trouble."

"From the way you and the other boys act, I would have thought getting into trouble was the only thing you want to do?"

"… Not at school… and Evie's not meant to get into trouble as well."

"Evie will not get into trouble for this, I promise."

Jacob seemed mollified by this, taking a deep breath as they pulled up on a street that was behind the school.

"Alright, he should be in a meeting right about now, and it looks like his window is open." Haytham explained as he watched Jacob shimmy over the fence, "Just put the USB on his desk where he can see it and then hurry back, okay?"

"Okay!"

From here Haytham could only watch… as Jacob hummed the entire way.

"They'll teach him out of that."

….

The next five minutes were nail-bitingly tense.

Haytham kept an eye on the corridor that led to the office using his Eagle Vision, resisting the urge to just run in there and grab the child.

Seconds before he was about to leap over the fence, consequences be damned, Jacob clambered out of the window and raced over to the fence, quickly climbing over.

"Done it!"

"Where were you?!" Haytham scolded, as they quickly made their way back to the car, "I almost came in after you!"

"I had to go and see Evie!"

"That wasn't part of the plan!"

"So?"

Haytham rolled his eyes, "Why did you feel the need to go and see Evie?"

"… Because she's my sister… and she'd do the same for me."

****End Flashback *******

Needless to say, Gary was punished, as was his mother when the Headmaster found out about the whole.

Evie got out of detention and she even let Jacob be the knight in her games for three whole weeks.

"Haytham?"

Once again, Haytham was startled out of his thoughts, turning to his wife and smiling. "Sorry, I was just thinking about what Jacob said to me after he snuck into the school."

"Oh?"

"He went to see his sister… not following the plan of course, and when I asked him why, he said she would do the same for him." He shook his head, "Part of me wonders if that was just wishful thinking."


	13. Edward

The headache was excruciating.

Edward groaned into the soft material by his face, curling up into a small ball with the pain.

"Edward?"

A cool hand brushed over his forehead, along with the familiar voice of his Aunt.

"Edward, are you okay?"

Slowly, he moved onto his side to stare at her, silent for a few moments, before pushing himself into a seated position.

"Tell me I've been deathly ill for a week and it was all just a fever dream?" he whispered, "Please, I- "He stopped as his Aunt shook her hand sadly.

"I'm sorry, but- "

"- no, no, no." Edward flopped back and buried his face into a pillow, "No, no, no, no!"

Silence.

"Fucking Council…" he muttered, "… fucking hell, why would they- why did they do it Aunt Ziio?"

She shook her head sadly, "I don't know…I'm having a little trouble coming to terms with it myself."

"He was one of my best friends!"

"I know."

"For fuck's sake!"

Sensing that he wasn't in the mood for any soothing words, Ziio gently patted her on the shoulder, before getting to her feet. "I'll get you some tea for that headache." she whispered, deciding to give him some privacy.

Probably a good thing, because as soon as she left the room, she could hear muffled sobbing.

Haytham, who had been waiting for her in the kitchen, frowned in concern. "Is he alright?"

"No… Jacob was one of his best friends and now he's gone." Ziio sighed in exhaustion as she went to boil the water, "This is going to hit all of them hard."

Nodding in agreement, Haytham grabbed some mugs from the cupboard.

They'd give Edward some time to calm down.

….

A little under half an hour later, Ziio and Haytham made their way back into the living room. Edward seemed a lot calmer, although it was clear that he'd been crying.

"Here…" Haytham gently handed Edward the mug of warm tea, him and Ziio taking a seat either side of him, "… this will help."

"You're so bloody British." It was a weak tease, and they all knew it as Edward sipped at the tea.

Silence.

As Haytham opened his mouth, hoping to comfort his nephew, Edward was the one to speak up first.

"He was my best friend. He used to tease me about my Welsh accent when we were kids… we'd get into the worst sort of trouble."

"Oh?"

A weak smile appeared on Edward's face, "Yeah… I know I should be admitting this, but we used to do imitations of the Council after you scolded us. Jacob did the best Malik impression."

"As I recall, you used to get into trouble because you'd both pour water down on Dai Malik from the balcony." Haytham didn't even try to remain firm, not when he remembered how the man had looked after the little prank, "And let's not forget the time you were both caught mimicking the entire council behind our backs."

"As yes…. That lecture included the word dishonour a lot."

"Yeah, instead of an angel and a devil on each shoulder, we had two devils." Edward chuckled fondly, "Ethan used to hate it."

"Hmmmm, Ethan did have a nasty habit of comparing Jacob to Evie."

"…. I threatened Freddie for Jacob."

Both Haytham and Ziio turned to Edward in shock as he stared into his mug and continued.

"I didn't want to lose Jacob to Freddie, but I knew how much Jacob liked him, so I waited for Freddie outside of his college and told him that he had to make Jacob happy… except they'd only met once, so all I did was confuse him. Thankfully, Jacob never found out, or I think he would died of embarrassment."

There was a brief moment of silence, before Haytham cautiously spoke up. "I remember how you two would spar with each other. It always used to start out friendly, but then it devolved into you both trying to trip each other up, grabbing at legs and tackling the other to the ground."

"Leaping on top of him and covering his eyes." Edward nodded, chuckling at the memory, "He used to do that a lot to me and Adewalie… not that it had any effect on him. Whenever I tried, I'd just knock him to the ground and then he'd roll about for ages, pretending I'd crushed every bone in his body."

"Yes, you two were the right comedy act."

"We were the funniest in the entire creed, I think you'll find!" Edward seemed a little brighter, colour returning to his cheeks, "I think, if we hadn't been assassins, we'd could have been big on the stage."

"…. Do you remember your first Leap of Faith?"

Edward frowned for a moment, before his eyes lit up. "The one where we had to dive into the water? Just so we'd get used to jumping off of high places?"

"That's the one."

**********Flashback********

Haytham rolled his eyes as he watched his son and Ezio splashing water at one another.

Who thought it was a good idea to let him be in charge of a class full of eight and nine-year-olds?

"Alright! Alright!" He called out, putting the water fight to an end, "Jacob. Edward. Why don't you go next?"

The pair in question ran forwards, clearly preparing to just throw themselves over the edge.

"Boys! No!"

They didn't listen.

The initial jump actually started out very elegant looking, like it was going to all go alright…. And then Jacob started to panic.

"I regret everything!" he cried out as Edward cackled beside him, the older boy quickly stopping when Jacob grabbed him, wrapping limbs around him as they both hit the water with a loud SPLASH!

"Fantastic…" Haytham muttered, "… just fantastic."

*******End Flashback******

"Best training session ever!" Edward laughed at the memory, "Definitely up there with the mud crawling session, where Jacob stuck flowers all over himself for camouflage."

"Ah yes, that was memorable."

That was one word for it. The teacher that day had actually fallen for it.

"And then there was the time you two decided to set up a surprise party for Evie…" Haytham continued, "… that was a disaster. Droopy cakes, an untidy room and a hideous dress."

"It was only hideous because it was on Jacob! I thought for sure, that if it looked good on Jacob, it would look good on Evie!"

"That's not how twins work Edward."

Edward just shrugged, his mood going down once again. "You know that I'm not to go any easier on the Council, right? Even though Jacob's gone…. In fact, I'm going to be even more of a pain."

"I would expect nothing less."


End file.
